This blast has been the deadliest to strike the Syrian capital since the start of the present uprising and subsequent regime clampdown some 14 months ago.

"Foreign-backed terrorists" carried out the attacks, using two cars "loaded with more than 1,000kg of explosives and driven by suicide bombers".

-- Syrian Interior Ministry

As per usual the opposition group and the government exchanged the blame for the blasts, the opposition blaming the Syrian regime, stating it was reacting to criticisms from Kofi Annan regarding the regimes failure to act in accordance to Mr. Annan's six-point peace plan. The Syrian regime has in turn blamed unidentified "foreign backed terrorists" for the blasts.

The Free Syrian Army has consistently blamed the Syrian regime for such attacks and has stated that they are carried out to discredit the group.

The 10-storey military intelligence building which was targeted had its facade damaged. It is an important building as it was involved in the instigation of the crackdown on the Syrian uprising by state forces controlled by Bashar al-Assad.

Today's attack has also followed what opposition activists have described as some of the heaviest shelling in Homs for weeks. These events are transpiring around the 105 United Nations monitors presently in the country whose presence has so far abjectly failed in bringing about an effective ceasefire.

A total of 300 U.N. monitors are due to be sent to Syria, the U.N. has stated the mounting death toll in Syria throughout the 14 month long crisis within the country has reached at least 9,000.